The present disclosure relates to fluid dispensing. More particularly, this disclosure relates to fluid dispensing meters.
Fluid management has become increasingly important to control the costs of fluid overhead. For example, many vehicle fleet managers and auto dealerships have installed fluid management systems to efficiently dispense fluids, such as motor oil or transmission fluid. Such fluid management systems frequently include a fluid tank and pump located away from the dispensing point. Fluid management systems can include wireless transmission and reception of meter and tank level information to simplify tracking of fluid dispenses throughout an entire facility.
A fluid dispensing meter, also referred to as a metered valve or metering valve, can have different trigger designs. For example, a fluid dispensing meter can have a manual trigger or a pre-set fluid dispensing meter, which has a manual trigger but has the added functionality of automatically stopping a fluid dispense when a pre-set fluid dispense volume has been reached. Fluid dispensing meters can have the additional ability of preventing fluid dispenses until the meter has received dispense authorization via an RF signal that activates the trigger mechanism. The fluid dispensing meter can include a trigger actuation solenoid that controls activation of the trigger mechanism.
The fluid dispensing meter can require a user to enter a PIN code to authorize activation of the trigger mechanism by the solenoid. Current fluid management systems require the user to enter a PIN code on the meter interface to activate the meter and perform a fluid dispense. Similarly, the user is required to enter a work order number or scroll through a list of work orders on the meter interface screen to select the work order that the dispense is associated with. Both entering a PIN to activate the trigger mechanism and associating a work order with the dispense event are cumbersome and time consuming.